The company Ostravské vodárny a kanalizace a. s. (Inc.) originated in 1992 after the privatization of the state-owned company Severomoravské vodovody a kanalizace without subsequent ownership. In 1994 the French company Lyonnaise des Eaux (today SUEZ) entered into the company, and is now the major shareholder. Another big shareholder is the City of Ostrava.

The business strategy and targets are aimed at meeting the company’s priorities. Among them there are still the effective management, operation and development of the leased technical infrastructure under the principles of a customer-friendly company according to strict quality standards. OVAK supplies 301 thousand inhabitants of Ostrava with quality drinking water. 65 % of it is bought from SmVaK Ostrava. It is surface water coming from the dams of Moravian-Silesian district. The remaining 35 % is covered by its own production from the underground sources located in the area of Ostrava. The annual production of drinking water from underground sources amounts to around 6 - 8 million m3.

The company has 385 employees, and manages 1,067 km of water networks and 880 km of sewerage networks.

The total volume of delivered water is 15.7 million m3 and the company’s turnover is more than 1 billion Czech Crowns.

OVAK’s mission is to run and maintain the infrastructure property, the water and sewerage networks, to look after the continuous supply of drinking water to all customers in the area of the town of Ostrava, and at the same time to carry out the sewage and follow-up waste water treatment.

The company Ostravské vodárny a kanalizace a.s. (Inc.) has belonged to water companies in the Czech Republic that meet the requirements of an integrated management system according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 for the areas of quality, environment and health and safety at work.